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10 Dec 2016 5:36:23am

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The current Federal Government's Data Retention proposals are alarming to say the least. In my view, they clearly lay a framework for the establishment of a "Police State" - a Totalitarian Society, if you like.

How many of you have read George Orwell's book, "Nineteen Eighty-Four"? This novel, written during the mid to late 1940's, is recommended reading for all people who believe in open democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the concept of "innocent until proven guilty".

Many would say, that "Nineteen Eighty-Four", was a very close reflection on the society of surveillance and control, created by Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union. Similar oppressive societies were maintained by the Third Reich's Gestapo, and the further enhanced apparatus of control and surveillance maintained by East Germany's Ministry for State Security (Ministerium für Staatssicherheit), known to many as the "Stasi", for almost forty years.

To further emphasise the gravity of the measures that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is considering, I also urge you to view the following program available for the next thirteen days at the SBS website (if you can):

The former East German regime stands in history, as a clear and well documented warning to the world of the consequences of living in a police state. We would do well to urgently heed this warning.

History is replete with examples of governments purporting by claim or constitution to be open liberal democracies, progressively implementing totalitarian policies over time, when left unchecked by the citizens whom they claim to represent. Australia is one such society.

Open democratic liberal societies that support the principles of freedom of speech, freedom and equality of association, and the concept of "innocent until proven guilty"; have to be maintained by all of us - the citizenry.

If you still have doubts, but value your freedom, consider reading George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four", and contemplate life as a citizen in former police states such as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the Third Reich, and the Soviet Union.

Of course, dare I say it, if you're looking for a contemporary example of a well organised police state, look no further than China and it's policies on the aforementioned liberties, and the internet.

YOU and I - WE; have to make it well known to our lawmakers, that we strongly object in the most uncertain terms to any further erosion of our civil liberties and privacy - every time they attempt to do so.